Golfers in County Durham confronted by 3-metre-long boa constrictors on course

For most golfers, the biggest obstacles are wind or bunkers, but players at a County Durham golf course faced an unusual hazard: two boa constrictors, each up to three metres long.

The first snake was discovered on 13 June during a children's golf lesson when a 12-year-old girl's shot landed directly on the reptile. Aaron Cox, 40, the instructor who moved from Australia eight years ago, used his golf club to push the snake off the course and placed it in a box. He did the same on 20 June when the second boa was found near the rough at Blackwell Grange Golf Club in Darlington.

Cox took both snakes to a nearby reptile shop, but they died because they were "riddled with disease." He noted that while adders are occasionally seen on the course, large snakes like boas had never been spotted in this part of England. "I've been over here for six, seven summers, and not once has it ever happened. And now we've seen two in a week, and now there's three more just down in North Yorkshire," he said.

Boas are native to South America and can grow longer than three metres. Despite their size, they are generally not considered dangerous to humans as they are non-venomous and rarely attack, preferring smaller prey. They are popular pets but can live over 30 years and require extensive care, sometimes leading owners to abandon them.

Cox believes the previous owner left the snakes on the course because they could no longer care for them. "It's a shame and a bit of a cruel act by whoever did it," he said. "I just hope they think about it twice before they do it again, or people that have pet snakes, think twice about what they do with them if they can't look after them."

The RSPCA expressed concern about the abandonment and urged anyone with firsthand information to contact the charity to help identify those responsible.